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Recent patterns and mechanisms of carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems

Nature volume 414, pages 169–172 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Knowledge of carbon exchange between the atmosphere, land and the oceans is important, given that the terrestrial and marine environments are currently absorbing about half of the carbon dioxide that is emitted by fossil-fuel combustion. This carbon uptake is therefore limiting the extent of atmospheric and climatic change, but its long-term nature remains uncertain. Here we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge of global and regional patterns of carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems. Atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen data confirm that the terrestrial biosphere was largely neutral with respect to net carbon exchange during the 1980s, but became a net carbon sink in the 1990s. This recent sink can be largely attributed to northern extratropical areas, and is roughly split between North America and Eurasia. Tropical land areas, however, were approximately in balance with respect to carbon exchange, implying a carbon sink that offset emissions due to tropical deforestation. The evolution of the terrestrial carbon sink is largely the result of changes in land use over time, such as regrowth on abandoned agricultural land and fire prevention, in addition to responses to environmental changes, such as longer growing seasons, and fertilization by carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Nevertheless, there remain considerable uncertainties as to the magnitude of the sink in different regions and the contribution of different processes.

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Figure 1: Zonal distribution of terrestrial and oceanic carbon fluxes.
Figure 2: An illustrative plot of the interannual variability of global terrestrial carbon exchange, as deduced using inverse modelling10.

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Acknowledgements

This Progress Article arose from the International Workshop on Integrated Carbon Research and Observations, held on 16–20 October 2000. This workshop was organized under the auspices of the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), and was co-funded by NOAA, the NSF, NASA, the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Interior/US Geological Survey, the US Department of Agriculture and the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme. D.S.S. was also supported by the European Commission, NASA, and the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.

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Author notes

  1. D. S. Schimel

    Present address: National Center for Atmospheric Research, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, Colorado, 80305, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute für Biogeochemie, Jena, Germany

    D. S. Schimel, J. I. House, G. Churkina, M. Heimann, I. C. Prentice & C. Wirth

  2. IGBP/GAIM, University of New Hampshire, Morse Hall, Durham, 03824, New Hampshire, USA

    K. A. Hibbard

  3. LSCE Unité mixte CEA-CNRS, Bat. 709, CE L’Orme des Merisiers, Gif sur Yvette, 91191, France

    P. Bousquet, P. Ciais & P. Friedlingstein

  4. Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Isotopique, Unite mixte CNRS-UPMC-INRA, Paris, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252, France

    P. Peylin

  5. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service Northern Forestry Center, 5320 122 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    M. J. Apps

  6. NCAR, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, 80303, USA

    D. Baker

  7. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg C4, Potsdam, 14473

    A. Bondeau & W. Cramer

  8. GCTE International Project Office, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, PO Box 284, Canberra, 2601, ACT, Australia

    J. Canadell

  9. Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523-1371, Colorado, USA

    A. S. Denning

  10. Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    C. B. Field & C. Goodale

  11. Woods Hole Research Center, PO Box 296, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA

    R. A. Houghton

  12. Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA

    J. M. Melillo

  13. University of New Hampshire, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, Durham, 03824, New Hampshire, USA

    B. H. Braswell & B. Moore III

  14. GCTE Impacts Center for Southeast Asia, Jalan Raya Tajur Km 6, POB 116, Bogor, Indonesia

    D. Murdiyarso

  15. Ecosystem Dynamics, RSBS, Australian National University, POB4 Acton, Canberra, 0200, ACT, Australia

    I. Noble

  16. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544-1003, New Hampshire, USA

    S. W. Pacala

  17. CSIRO Division of Land and Water, GPO Box 1666, Canberra, 2601, ACT, Australia

    M. R. Raupach

  18. CSIRO-DAR, PMB #1, Aspendale, 3195, Australia

    P. J. Rayner

  19. Environmentek, CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    R. J. Scholes

  20. IGBP Secretariat, Box 50005, Stockholm, S104-05, Sweden

    W. L. Steffen

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Schimel, D., House, J., Hibbard, K. et al. Recent patterns and mechanisms of carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems. Nature 414, 169–172 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35102500

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